Faced with writing a school report on an Australian animal, Tyler Kennedy began where many student begin these days: by searching the Internet. But Tyler didn’t use Google or Yahoo. He searched for information about the platypus on YouTube.

“I found some videos that gave me pretty good information about how it mates, how it survives, what it eats,” Tyler said. Similarly, when Tyler gets stuck on one of his favorite games on the Wii, he searches YouTube for tips on how to move forward. And when he wants to explore the ins and outs of collecting Bakugan Battle Brawlers cards, which are linked to a Japanese anime television series, he goes to YouTube again.

While he favors YouTube for searches, he said he also turns to Google from time to time.

“When they don’t have really good results on YouTube, then I use Google,” said Tyler, who is 9 and lives in Alameda. Calif.

Tyler is a self-directed and reflective learner, who monitors his progress. That's good news for educators as long as we can harness his growth, not stand in his way. As Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, once said “Search is highly personal and empowering. It’s the antithesis of begin told or taught.”

Noah Berger for The New York Times

Tyler Kennedy, 9, at home in California, uses YouTube to research reports for school and to hunt tips to advance in his video games.